The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Adventures of a Three-Guinea Watch, by
Talbot Baines Reed

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Title: The Adventures of a Three-Guinea Watch

Author: Talbot Baines Reed

Release Date: April 11, 2007 [EBook #21035]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THREE-GUINEA WATCH ***

Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England

The Adventures of a Three-Guinea Watch

By Talbot Baines Reed
________________________________________________________________________
This is really a most unusual book. Told, we must imagine, by the
watch, we are led through the owner's days at a boys' boarding school,
to being stolen, pawned, auctioned, taken to quite another small town,
given to a brilliant local boy when he left for Cambridge, lost in a
field, found, and through further adventures being taken to India to
fight in a battle near Lucknow, finally making its way into the pocket
of its original owner, whose life was saved by the watch having
deflected a bullet.

It's well-told, too, and not too long, at under ten hours.

The copy we worked from was very browned, and it was not too easy to do
the transcription, but we have done our best: if you find anything
obviously wrong, don't hesitate to tell us about it. NH.
________________________________________________________________________
THE ADVENTURES OF A THREE-GUINEA WATCH

BY TALBOT BAINES REED

CHAPTER ONE.

MY INFANCY AND EDUCATION--HOW I WAS SOLD AND WHO BOUGHT ME.

"Then you can guarantee it to be a good one to go?"

"You couldn't have a better, sir."

"And it will stand a little roughish wear, you think?"

"I'm sure of it, sir; it's an uncommon strong watch."

"Then I'll take it."

These few sentences determined my destiny, and from that moment my
career may be said to have begun.

I am old, and run down, and good for nothing now; but many a time do I
find my thoughts wandering back to this far-off day; and remembering all
that has befallen me since that eventful moment, I humbly hope my life
has not been one to disgrace the good character with which I went out
into the world.

I was young at the time, very young--scarcely a month old.